Andreessen Horowitz was founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz , two former technology entrepreneurs who built one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capital firms. The firm began investing in crypto and web3 startups across all stages in 2013 , making it an early institutional player in the space. As of July 2025, Andreessen Horowitz manages $46 billion in assets across multiple funds, including dedicated vehicles for crypto, bio/health, consumer, enterprise, and fintech sectors. The firm launched its first dedicated crypto fund in 2018 with $300 million, and its Coinbase stake was worth approximately $11.2 billion at the time of the direct listing .
Chris Dixon leads a16z crypto, which launched its first $300 million fund in 2018 and grew each subsequent fund, culminating in a $4.5 billion vehicle in 2022 . Dixon has been at Andreessen Horowitz since 2012 and founded and leads a16z crypto . Katie Haun was the firm's first female general partner and co-led the initial crypto fund with Dixon before departing to found Haun Ventures . The firm is currently raising its fifth crypto fund targeting around $2 billion by the end of the first half of 2026, with plans for a shorter fundraising cycle to respond more quickly to market shifts .
Notable investments
a16z Crypto's portfolio includes foundational investments in Coinbase (pre-IPO), Solana, Uniswap, Optimism, Compound, MakerDAO, Lido, and EigenLayer , representing nearly every major segment of the crypto ecosystem. The firm successfully exited its Coinbase investment after investing across eight different rounds between 2013 and 2020 . Uniswap received $11 million in Series A funding in August 2020, followed by a $165 million Series B round in October 2022 . OpenSea received $100 million in a round led by a16z in July 2021, followed by $150 million for Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis . Other major bets include Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), which hit a $7.5 billion valuation in spring 2021, and Dfinity, which raised at a $9.5 billion valuation in September 2020 . Recent successes include Anchorage, Kalshi, and Uniswap .
Team
Chris Dixon is Managing Partner and Founder of a16z Crypto and is widely regarded as a leading intellectual force in crypto, known for articulating long-term theses around blockchains as open networks . Dixon co-founded multiple startups including Hunch, which was acquired by eBay in 2011, before joining Andreessen Horowitz as a general partner in 2012 . Dixon summarized his philosophy in his 2024 book Read Write Own and has championed the "Web3" approach to crypto, arguing that blockchains can create decentralized versions of internet applications . Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz founded the parent firm , bringing deep operating experience as former technology founders. The firm publishes an annual "State of Crypto" report, operates a free Crypto Startup School educational program, and employs a dedicated policy team that engages with regulators and has been an influential voice advocating for clear regulatory frameworks .
Recent activity
Recent investments have included Babylon, a decentralized protocol for collateralizing Bitcoin holdings, Kairos, a cross-platform integration tool for prediction markets, and a $50 million investment into Solana staking protocol Jito . The firm announced an expansion into Asia by opening an office in Seoul, South Korea, with SungMo Park joining as Head of APAC go-to-market to support crypto portfolio companies in the region . The firm returned capital to limited partners at the market peak in 2025, achieving a distribution to paid-in capital ratio (DPI) of 5.4 times for its first fund . In April 2025, a16z CSX led a $4 million round in Glider and announced its participation in the a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator Spring 2026 cohort in San Francisco .
Andreessen Horowitz crypto has established itself as the dominant institutional investor in blockchain technology, combining patient capital with philosophical conviction about decentralization. The firm's early Coinbase bet and systematic approach to backing infrastructure, DeFi protocols, and Layer 1 platforms have generated substantial returns. Competition has intensified from firms like Paradigm and Haun Ventures, the latter founded by a former a16z crypto general partner and recently raising $1 billion . The decision to raise a smaller fifth fund reflects both market discipline and strategic flexibility in volatile conditions. Dixon has defended his "read write own" thesis as blockchain enters its "financial era," arguing that "finance isn't separate from the broader thesis; it's the foundation" . With dedicated policy resources, educational programs, and expanding geographic reach, the firm continues shaping how institutions approach crypto investment and regulation.
